Change is the only constant – it is inevitable really. Yes, there are times when we see it coming, but then there are times when it smacks us upside the head (#2020).
Although change can be scary it can also serve as a time to reset for a new normal; a new baseline per se to reestablish a starting point of our lives. We may find that the things and people that once served us no longer hold such deep value.
When you think about it, finding a new baseline happens a lot throughout our lives. At the beginning of every year, lots of people decide this is the year for change and change up their habits. For those in school, the fall is often the time for starting anew and creating new goals and school routines. Every giant milestone in our lives leads to a fresh beginning. A graduation, a new job, a new home, new relationships – these all lead to fresh starts, and with that comes the ability to recalibrate what the starting point should look like. Do you want to exercise daily? Looking to up your water intake? Create a journaling practice? These can all be included when figuring out a new baseline.
So how do you find what your new new should look like? Here are four tips to creating a new baseline:
- Purge. Get rid of the things that do not have a place in your contemporary life. Whether it is physical things – like clothes or jewelry; or less tangible things like thoughts, ideologies, or believes. Get rid of them. The positive side of setting a new baseline is that you have the opportunity to get rid of the things that are not necessary anymore.
- Try and experiment. This is the time to see what fits this way of life. You don’t normally eat breakfast? Try it and see what happens. You don’t like working out indoors? Do a 10-minute YouTube video to test out the waters. Maybe you were right all along and those things aren’t for you, but maybe (just maybe) they are the missing puzzle piece you were looking for all along.
- False starts are accepted. You thought you were ready to make changes last week, but couldn’t commit. Start this week. You were going to meditate everyday but missed three, there’s always next month to start a daily practice. You can start, and restart as many times as you like. It is fine to pull the trigger only to revert back. Remember, change is scary and that is okay to acknowledge. You can start again when you are ready to start again. Start dates are arbitrary anyway so why not start things when you are ready to commit fully to your plan.
- Uniqueness is appreciated. Your new you may not be the same as someone else’s. You know why? Because you are a completely different person than them. Your goals, your accomplishments, even your successes will look different. No worries. The more genuine your baseline looks the better suited it will be for you (and that is the person you are trying to please). Do not take up knitting as your hobby of choice simply because your next-door neighbor has. Do not set yourself up to read during your down time if you find reading to be boring. Set yourself up for success, not failure by picking the things you can appreciate doing.